Illinois State University’s Forensics Union hosts the Summer Speech Institute (SSI) camp each year. This camp brings high school students to Bloomington–Normal, Ill., to learn the art of speech and debate from national champions in the activity. After rebranding the “Forensics Union,” the Summer Speech Institute needed an update to continue the brand.
While the development of the Summer Speech Institute brand is similar to the Forensics Union brand, the creative approach focuses on the energy and power of the activity. Even just looking at the sleek design of the action speech bubble, there’s an electricity that seems to pulse from the image to the viewer. To continue that feeling of energy, I created a text that includes some form of power. The posters encapsulate this strategy with phrases like “Take the charge and speak boldly” and “A spark to speak.” Since high school students primarily view the Summer Speech Institute, this brand revision ensures they will feel energized about Illinois State.
